Celebrating nature’s bounty: Sair fest brings communities together

Deeply rooted in Kangra’s agrarian culture, Sair heralds the end of the rainy Bhadon month and the onset of Ashwin — ushering in clear skies, golden sunshine and ripening kharif crops. More than a harvest festival, Sair is a celebration of gratitude, reverence and renewal, when communities come together to offer the season’s first yield — paddy, maize and fruits like guava and lemon — to deities and ancestors.

Pahari author Prof Gautam Vyathit recalls a common Kangri saying, “Lagge Teer-Sukhe Neer,” signifying how the post-monsoon sun helps dry the moisture-laden crops. In a fading yet cherished tradition, the village barber once visited homes with a symbolic image of Sair Devi, receiving offerings of fresh produce and coins.

Sair is also marked by culinary abundance — festive tables brim with dahi bhalla, meethi roti, gulgule, bhaturu, kabuli channe, pakodu and the customary walnuts, all reinforcing the joy of sharing.

The festival coincides with the seasonal migration of Gaddi shepherds, who descend with their flocks from the high-altitude pastures of Chamba and Lahaul-Spiti to the gentler lower hills and plains of Punjab. For newlywed women, Sair marks their ceremonial return to their in-laws’ homes, weaving personal milestones into the seasonal cycle. Once aligned with nature’s rhythms, Kangra’s seasonal festivals are losing their vibrancy amid erratic weather and shifting lifestyles. Where bustling cattle fairs once thrived, stray cattle now wander deserted grounds; the long-familiar ploughing of terraced fields is fading into memory.

This year, persistent rains have stalled paddy harvesting, leaving crops vulnerable. Locals blame climate change for disrupting traditions and livelihoods.

Meanwhile, the three-day state-level Sair fair was inaugurated at Arki by local MLA Sanjay Awasthi on Tuesday.